Last gasp St. Patrick can't
overcome Larkin
Shamrocks tie game in 80th-minute, fall in shootout
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — St. Patrick had the crazy momentum of an improbable finish.
Larkin had poetic justice.
“I don’t think we played very disciplined,” St. Patrick midfielder Jorge Parra said.
“We dominated the game, but to be honest, I don’t think we did enough to win the game.”
Parra’s 80th-minute penalty kick breathed new life into the Shamrocks, but the Royals proved unstoppable in the penalty phase.
Larkin finished all five attempts to defeat the Shamrocks 5-3 in the shootout for a BodyArmor bracket championship Sunday at the Lyons Soccer Complex Sunday.
Atlai Gutierrez, Adrian Diaz, Anthony Cordova, Fran Montoya and Francisco Rodriguez were the credited shooters for the Royals (8-6-0).
St. Patrick made its first three shots. A save by Larkin keeper Danny Duarte opened the door for defender Francisco Rodriguez, the final shooter.
“You just have to go up with confidence, and you can’t second guess yourself,” Rodriguez said.
“With me, it always depends on the situation, and how I am feeling. I just picked the spot, I shot it, and I got the result I wanted.”
Diaz put the Royals up 1-0 in the 47th minute with a terrific juke step move that froze a defender as he blasted a left-footed ball from about 21 yards that pushed inside the far post.
“We took advantage of their counterattack, and we got lucky,” Diaz said. “We defended pretty well, and we got the result we wanted.”
Diaz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his outstanding play.
St. Patrick's emotional response at the end of regulation led a wild final minute.
St. Patrick star Nicolas Leon had created some scintillating scoring chances with his booming free kicks throughout the game.
In the 80th minute, he found a way to extend the game.
“Up until that point, we had a lot of set pieces, and we had not been able to execute,” Leon said.
His shot sailed high into the air and created havoc inside the box. A Larkin player grabbed a St. Patrick who was trying to make a move to the ball.
After consulting with the assistant referee, the lead official ruled a foul that necessitated the penalty kick.
“We just had to keep our heads up,” Diaz said. “We couldn’t let that get to us.
“We just had to focus on the shootout.”
To the great chagrin of the Shamrocks (5-5-4), the game never should have reached that point.
St. Patrick dominated the game, controlling possession and creating constant pressure in the Royals’ final third.
Name an instance, and the Shamrocks seemingly had a clean shot on goal.
The team endured a slow start to its season. A late charge and strong play this weekend at a tournament in Evansville, Ind., reminded the team of its promise and development.
That is what turned the Sunday game into a bittersweet and melancholy action.
“They outworked us, and that’s what happened,” Parra said. “They just finished the chance they got, which we weren’t able to do.
“We had a great weekend in Indiana. I don’t know what it was, but we didn’t play as well today.”
Forward Chris Perez was one of the players who made repeated and constant attacks at the Royals’ back.
The shootout loss was tough. At least, St. Patrick showed its mettle, and proved the adage of always going strong until the final moments.
The penalty kick opportunity came out of the aggressiveness and urgency of the moment.
“It’s tough losing the way we did, but it’s better going out in a fight and pushing until the end and losing with honor than simply giving up,” Perez said.
“As long as you push until the very end, you never know what is going to happen.”
The Shamrocks are in a busy portion of their schedule and played in three tournaments in eight days.
The Evansville tournament bookends a weekend getaway in Kentucky.
St. Patrick defeated Joliet Catholic 4-1 Monday and plays Marist on Wednesday in East Suburban Catholic Conference play.
Silver linings are easy to manufacture against the backdrop of any loss.
The fight and hunger of St. Patrick extending the game meant something. This was not a team that going to go idly in the night.
It also made the whole game all the more inexplicable.
How do you control time, possession and opportunity and not reap greater benefits?
The Shamrocks were still trying to come up with the answers.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Perez said.
St. Patrick is built on speed, cohesion up-tempo play.
The Shamrocks achieved those ends.
“One thing about this team is we are never going to stop from working hard,” Parra said.
“We worked hard every game. We never stopped working. You saw what happened out there when we did stop for a minute. They executed and got the chance they got.”
Parra, Leon and Sergio Barron made their penalty kicks during the shootout.
The fight and tenacity was something worth crediting and acknowledging.
“We can definitely take positives away from this game,” Leon said.
“We know we have a lot of potential on our team. We also know we can work very hard. We just have to show it."
Starting lineups
Larkin
GK: Danny Duarte
D: Francisco Rodriguez
D: Oscar Jimenez
D: Fran Montoya
D: Elian Rendon
MF: Reyli Perez
MF: Atlai Gutierrez
MF: Michael Morales
MF: Omar Mendoza
MF: Anthony Cordova
F: Adrian Diaz
St. Patrick
GK: Anthony Torres
D: Gael Quinonez
D: Daniel Carrera
D: Rafael Ramirez
MF: Jesus Sanchez
MF: Sergio Barron
MF: Rafael Rios
MF: Christian Medina
MF: Jorge Parra
F: Chris Perez
F: Nicolas Leon
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Adrian Diaz, jr., F, Larkin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Larkin—Adrian Diaz (Anthony Cordova), 47th minute
St. Patrick—Jorge Parra (penalty kick), 80th minute
Shootout
Larkin: 5, Atlai Gutierrez (good), Adrian Diaz (good), Anthony Cordova (good), Fran Montoya (good), Francisco Rodriguez (good)
St. Patrick: 3, Jorge Parra (good), Nicolas Leon (good), Sergio Barron (good), Daniel Carrera (saved)
overcome Larkin
Shamrocks tie game in 80th-minute, fall in shootout
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — St. Patrick had the crazy momentum of an improbable finish.
Larkin had poetic justice.
“I don’t think we played very disciplined,” St. Patrick midfielder Jorge Parra said.
“We dominated the game, but to be honest, I don’t think we did enough to win the game.”
Parra’s 80th-minute penalty kick breathed new life into the Shamrocks, but the Royals proved unstoppable in the penalty phase.
Larkin finished all five attempts to defeat the Shamrocks 5-3 in the shootout for a BodyArmor bracket championship Sunday at the Lyons Soccer Complex Sunday.
Atlai Gutierrez, Adrian Diaz, Anthony Cordova, Fran Montoya and Francisco Rodriguez were the credited shooters for the Royals (8-6-0).
St. Patrick made its first three shots. A save by Larkin keeper Danny Duarte opened the door for defender Francisco Rodriguez, the final shooter.
“You just have to go up with confidence, and you can’t second guess yourself,” Rodriguez said.
“With me, it always depends on the situation, and how I am feeling. I just picked the spot, I shot it, and I got the result I wanted.”
Diaz put the Royals up 1-0 in the 47th minute with a terrific juke step move that froze a defender as he blasted a left-footed ball from about 21 yards that pushed inside the far post.
“We took advantage of their counterattack, and we got lucky,” Diaz said. “We defended pretty well, and we got the result we wanted.”
Diaz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his outstanding play.
St. Patrick's emotional response at the end of regulation led a wild final minute.
St. Patrick star Nicolas Leon had created some scintillating scoring chances with his booming free kicks throughout the game.
In the 80th minute, he found a way to extend the game.
“Up until that point, we had a lot of set pieces, and we had not been able to execute,” Leon said.
His shot sailed high into the air and created havoc inside the box. A Larkin player grabbed a St. Patrick who was trying to make a move to the ball.
After consulting with the assistant referee, the lead official ruled a foul that necessitated the penalty kick.
“We just had to keep our heads up,” Diaz said. “We couldn’t let that get to us.
“We just had to focus on the shootout.”
To the great chagrin of the Shamrocks (5-5-4), the game never should have reached that point.
St. Patrick dominated the game, controlling possession and creating constant pressure in the Royals’ final third.
Name an instance, and the Shamrocks seemingly had a clean shot on goal.
The team endured a slow start to its season. A late charge and strong play this weekend at a tournament in Evansville, Ind., reminded the team of its promise and development.
That is what turned the Sunday game into a bittersweet and melancholy action.
“They outworked us, and that’s what happened,” Parra said. “They just finished the chance they got, which we weren’t able to do.
“We had a great weekend in Indiana. I don’t know what it was, but we didn’t play as well today.”
Forward Chris Perez was one of the players who made repeated and constant attacks at the Royals’ back.
The shootout loss was tough. At least, St. Patrick showed its mettle, and proved the adage of always going strong until the final moments.
The penalty kick opportunity came out of the aggressiveness and urgency of the moment.
“It’s tough losing the way we did, but it’s better going out in a fight and pushing until the end and losing with honor than simply giving up,” Perez said.
“As long as you push until the very end, you never know what is going to happen.”
The Shamrocks are in a busy portion of their schedule and played in three tournaments in eight days.
The Evansville tournament bookends a weekend getaway in Kentucky.
St. Patrick defeated Joliet Catholic 4-1 Monday and plays Marist on Wednesday in East Suburban Catholic Conference play.
Silver linings are easy to manufacture against the backdrop of any loss.
The fight and hunger of St. Patrick extending the game meant something. This was not a team that going to go idly in the night.
It also made the whole game all the more inexplicable.
How do you control time, possession and opportunity and not reap greater benefits?
The Shamrocks were still trying to come up with the answers.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Perez said.
St. Patrick is built on speed, cohesion up-tempo play.
The Shamrocks achieved those ends.
“One thing about this team is we are never going to stop from working hard,” Parra said.
“We worked hard every game. We never stopped working. You saw what happened out there when we did stop for a minute. They executed and got the chance they got.”
Parra, Leon and Sergio Barron made their penalty kicks during the shootout.
The fight and tenacity was something worth crediting and acknowledging.
“We can definitely take positives away from this game,” Leon said.
“We know we have a lot of potential on our team. We also know we can work very hard. We just have to show it."
Starting lineups
Larkin
GK: Danny Duarte
D: Francisco Rodriguez
D: Oscar Jimenez
D: Fran Montoya
D: Elian Rendon
MF: Reyli Perez
MF: Atlai Gutierrez
MF: Michael Morales
MF: Omar Mendoza
MF: Anthony Cordova
F: Adrian Diaz
St. Patrick
GK: Anthony Torres
D: Gael Quinonez
D: Daniel Carrera
D: Rafael Ramirez
MF: Jesus Sanchez
MF: Sergio Barron
MF: Rafael Rios
MF: Christian Medina
MF: Jorge Parra
F: Chris Perez
F: Nicolas Leon
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Adrian Diaz, jr., F, Larkin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Larkin—Adrian Diaz (Anthony Cordova), 47th minute
St. Patrick—Jorge Parra (penalty kick), 80th minute
Shootout
Larkin: 5, Atlai Gutierrez (good), Adrian Diaz (good), Anthony Cordova (good), Fran Montoya (good), Francisco Rodriguez (good)
St. Patrick: 3, Jorge Parra (good), Nicolas Leon (good), Sergio Barron (good), Daniel Carrera (saved)